A rare prototype Lotus Elite has recently resurfaced and we are delighted to share it with our readers.
Every now and then we get a call from someone who has a special car. A few weeks ago we got a message from Andy Harrison, Shipley based mini racer, classic car restorer and owner of the Shipley MOT Centre and Acespeed Historic Motorsort.
The message was simple, we have a Lotus that was owned by Colin and Hazel Chapman. As a Lotus owner (1968 Elan) I am always interested in their history and so I made arrangements to see the car and take a few pictures. It was only as I was driving there that I realised I didn’t know what model it was.
On arrival at Andy’s place I spied a Lotus Elite in green. It was a bit rough around the edges and a few things seemed out of place. But there it was, a 1972 Lotus Elite, one of the earliest models.
It turned out to be the earliest Elite in existence. This was the first and only surviving prototype which was tested extensively before the model went into production.
Lotus Elite, taking Lotus upmarket:
This was a hugely important car for Lotus as it sought to move from kit car manufacturer to prestige sports car manufacturer. Before looking at Andy’s car lets get a bit of history on the Elite which was launched in 1974 making this year its 50th anniversary.
The Elite is not a common sight on today’s classic car scene, though there is a strong following of enthusiasts. 2 535 Elites were built and according to a DVLA source only 300 are on the road and around more 300 are SORN. If you can find a good one (expect to pay around £15k) then it will make an interesting and unusual classic.
At the end of the 1960’s Lotus was riding high as multiple world champions in Formula One. But F1 is expensive and the Elan and Elan plus 2, Europa and Lotus 7 road cars were getting dated. Lotus needed to move up market with a much more modern concept. As we entered the 70’s it was all angular lines, boxy panels and a shift in the colour pallette to beige and brown.
But oil prices were rocketing, the economy was tanking and inflation was on the rise. Not a time to be launching a £6000 rival to the Citroen SM and Mercedes-Benz 280 CE.
Putting together a new team
As a leading Formula 1 team, Chapman felt that Lotus’ position in the marketplace should be challenging Ferrari and Porsche. Nothing less than an all new sports car would do.
He wanted more than the Elan and Europa offered. Once he’d made his mind up, Chapman started to build a team to produce the new range of Lotus cars.
Ex-Jaguar Engineer (and later Lotus CEO) Mike Kimberley joined the firm in 1969, as did former BRM Engineer Tony Rudd. It was Rudd who initially proposed both the front-engined Elite and the mid-engined Esprit as successors to the Elan +2 and Europa. Winterbottom was also ex-Jaguar and, fresh from his work on the XJ21, led the new car in a wedge direction.
It was conceived as a four-seater similar in concept to the Relaint Scimitar but the project soon lost its way and they’ scrapped the first proposal, designed by John Frayling.
While it looked like no other Lotus, the M50 followed the same mechanical template as the Elan. A 2+2 with a backbone chassis and fibreglass shell.
The interior was to have a conventional dashboard but Colin Chapman wanted something dramatic to match its exterior styling. Chapman had met Giorgetto Giugiaro at the 1972 Turin Motor Show and he offered the job of styling the interior of the M50 to Ital Design.
Project M50 would end up being the first Lotus to be powered by the firm’s new 1973cc twin-cam slant-four, 16-valve Type 907 developing 155bhp. Much of the engine’s development was funded by Jensen, who used the engine for its Jensen-Healey sports car.
It would also debut the firm’s new glassfibre moulding process, Vacuum-Assisted Resin Injection (VARI). Essentially, the M50 would be built in two halves, the upper and the lower. The join would be a very obvious feature line running the length of the body. It would mean that the Eclat could be easily spun off from the Elite, and would also be used very successfully in the Esprit.
Lotus’s re-invention – took the form of a three-pronged model programme. The Elite would be the first in 1974, the closely-related Type 76 Eclat would follow in 1975, with the Esprit (Type 79) in 1976. All would be powered by the Type 907 engine.
On to launch
When the Lotus Elite was launched in May 1974 it was the UK’s most expensive four-cylinder car.
It came in four versions, known as the 501, 502, 503 and 504. The basic model had a four-speed Ford transmission and manual steering. The 502 added air conditioning and a five-speed Austin Maxi derived gearbox. Power assistance was offered with the 503, with the 504 also offered with a power-sapping automatic gearbox.
Performance matched its rivals thanks to a low drag coefficient and low kerbweight (1043kg). The 0-60mph time of the entry-level Elite 501 was 8.1 seconds and it went on to a maximum speed of 125mph. Being a 16-valve design, it thrived on revs, and needed to be worked hard to get the most from it.
Despite it’s usefulness as a four-seat GT with decent luggage room, sales were slow. The high price was a factor, as was the poor state of the UK economy, but doubts over the build quality and reliability also affected buyer confidence.
The Eclat’s arrival in 1975 boosted production and its more conventional shape proved more acceptable buyers. Its lower price also helped.
Throughout its life it had been dogged by production and quality issues, while the world economy conspired against it. It was phased out in 1982, with 2535 examples built.
More details about the prototype will be reported in the next few weeks.
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